Monthly Archives: July 2015

The first meeting of Pentabus Theatre Co and the group of Live & Local/Shindig promoters and Friends met on an evening in June in Maxstoke as the sun set behind the village hall…

The meeting was a round table discussion between commissioned playwright Hattie Naylor, Pentabus Artistic Director Elizabeth Freestone, and people who promote and attend performances within rural touring schemes and who were interested to come together to be involved in the development of Pentabus’ new touring play for 2016. The discussion ranged from the practicalities of village hall performances to the experiences of rural living, how these might be ‘truthfully’ represented in a play for a rural audience, or whether a more fantastical and transformative experience was what audiences wanted.

As Development Manager for Live & Local I was involved in setting up this up this project with Pentabus, and my experience of attending the first meeting of the group was a happy one, feeling that the conversation was flowing and the participants were finding the experience of participating enjoyable and stimulating. The project will continue with more development meetings through to opportunities for the group to attend an actors’ workshop with the script, rehearsals and of course the play on tour.